Tag Archives: Surprise

One of the questions undoubtedly asked of the GM candidates by Mets ownership during the interview process are their thoughts on the manager. No way a candidate doesn’t go into an interview with Jeff Wilpon without some idea as to who he wants as manager.

Some names would not come as a surprise; others might cause some wonder.

None of these candidates are without ideas and contacts. The way these things work at times is the GM candidate might tell a potential manager, “hey, I’m being considered by the Mets. If I get it I’d like to talk to you about being manager. Hang tight.”

If the relationship between the potential GM and potential manager is close – perhaps they have even worked together before – much of the leg work is already done. This should speed up the process when the Mets finally make their GM hire.

I still like Sandy Alderson because he has the largest body of successful work and would bring the most to the table right away. The Mets are still hoping they’d like to get this done by the end of the World Series.

Although it would have been great to have this taken care of sooner, but getting the right man is the most important thing.

The Mets announced this afternoon Jenrry Mejia will start Saturday’s game at Chicago. Not a surprise.

I hope the Mets give Mejia a lot of rope to see what he is capable of doing. Remember he spent a lot of the season in the bullpen, so his innings aren’t what they could be had he been in a rotation all year. Even so, I’m sure they will watch his pitch count.

By rope, I mean let him work his way out of jams and if he gets mauled early, let ‘s see how he reacts. I don’t want to hear how getting rocked will shake his confidence, because if he’s as good as the Mets think he’ll learn from it.

This is obviously the right thing to do, as the Mets finally have realized his future is as a starter. Five starts won’t be enough for him to develop another pitch, but it is a start. Even after five starts he might need more time in Triple A to develop, but that’s all right.

I thought they pushed the envelope with him in the first half of the season with how they handled him in the bullpen. There were glimpses where you could tell what all the fuss is about, and there were other times when you knew he wasn’t ready.

The season is lost, so it’s time to plan ahead. For every fifth day at least, when Mejia pitches, there will be meaningful games in September. Let him take his lumps and learn from it. Both he and the Mets will be better off.

One of the few bright spots to another disappointing season goes tonight at Citi Field, where the crowd expects to be slim.

Game #125 vs. Marlins

R.A. Dickey (8-5, 2.41) will be starting for the Mets, but he’ll go against Cy Young candidate Josh Johnson, who is 7-1 lifetime against the Mets.

Also making it tough for Dickey is the Mets’ lackluster offense, which has scored three of fewer runs in 10 of its last 13 games. Once dominant at Citi Field, the Mets have 10 runs to show for in their last seven games here.

With a little support, Dickey could easily have at least 12 wins, which would tie him with Mike Pelfrey for the club lead. Since joining the Mets’ rotation, Dickey has made a quality start in 14 of 18 games. In his last eight starts since the All-Star break he’s pitched to a 1.99 ERA, but the offense is giving him 1.99 runs a game in that span to leave him with a 2-3 record.

In his last start, Dickey gave up a game-tying homer with one out in the ninth inning at Houston in a game the Mets eventually won in 14 innings.

Since Johnson presents a formidable foe, Dickey must be at his best tonight. He is 5-1 with a 1.22 ERA at Citi Field.

The Mets spent a lot of time this offseason with Oliver Perez, visiting him once a month at the Fischer Sports Physical Therapy in Arizona. They also checked in on him at his Mexico home.
Pitching coach Dan Warthen said Perez became lackadaisical and “slipped into cruise mode,” after landing the big contract. He didn’t come into camp in good shape and was set back after the World Baseball Classic.

The Mets are saying Perez has changed, that he’s in good shape and optimistic about this season. You’ll have to excuse me as I’ve heard that refrain before. I wrote the other day of how you could look at Perez and it is true. He’s young, he’s won before, he’s got a great arm – you know, the party line the last three summers.

It’s all true. So to, have been his brain cramps, wildness and inconsistency.

It’s tempting to look at Perez’s shortcomings and think the worst, which I’ve done. I’m not ready to think the best, but I think I’ll look at him this way. If he pitches poorly, which he’s sure to do, I’ll try not to get upset. Instead I’ll try to think, “well, that’s not surprising.”

And, if he pitches well, and that will happen at times, I’ll try to be pleasantly surprised. There should be less anxiety that way.

Tracy Ringolsby of The Rocky Mountain News is in the writer’s wing of the Hall of Fame for a reason. He knows his stuff. Covering the NL Division Series, Ringolsby is reporting Manny Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras (what a surprise), wants a five-year deal worth $85 million.

In 53 games for the Dodgers, Ramirez batted .396 with 17 HR and 53 RBI. No doubt, despite that short window of playing time, he’ll get some MVP consideration.

That’s fine, as long as the Mets don’t give him any consideration in the off-season. The Mets, their problems hitting with RISP, were still second in the league in runs scored. They need to spent the money on pitching.